Ah, another billion-dollar fund manager has decided to grace us with his political wisdom. Ron Baron, the 81-year-old founder of Baron Capital who somehow still shows up to work every day, went on CNBC this week to announce he's voting for Donald Trump. Not because of some deeply held ideological conviction, mind you, but because—get this—he thinks Trump will be good for stocks. Inspiring stuff.
Baron, who's worth roughly $5 billion and has a net worth that could probably fund a small nation's healthcare system, explained his reasoning with all the nuance of a guy who's been rich so long he forgot what a grocery receipt looks like. His pitch? Trump will cut taxes, reduce regulation, and generally make life easier for people who already have more money than they could spend in three lifetimes. Groundbreaking analysis. Truly the Nostradamus of our time.
But here's the twist that makes this whole thing chef's kiss: Baron also said he likes Kamala Harris. He called her "very impressive." He just won't vote for her because, again, stocks. This is the political equivalent of saying "I love your personality, but I'm marrying your richer sibling." It's not you, it's the portfolio.
Now, I know what you're thinking. "A wealthy investor supporting the candidate who promises tax cuts for wealthy investors? Shocking!" Hold your fainting couch. In other news, water is wet, the sun rises in the east, and a golden retriever has never once been accused of insider trading.
Baron's been doing this dance for a while. He hosted a fundraiser for Trump earlier this year at his home in the Hamptons, because nothing says "man of the people" like a Hamptons fundraiser. He's also given money to Democrats in the past, so he's not a die-hard partisan—he's just a die-hard capitalist who treats elections like a quarterly earnings call. The man has one metric: will this make my already obscene pile of money slightly more obscene? If yes, he votes yes.
And honestly? In a weird way, you have to respect the honesty. Most billionaires pretend their political preferences are about "freedom" or "the constitution" or "the children." Baron just flat-out said the quiet part into a microphone: he wants lower taxes and fewer rules. No performative hand-wringing about the soul of the nation. No invoking the founding fathers. Just pure, unadulterated self-interest wrapped in a CNBC hit.
The internet, as you might imagine, had a field day. The replies ranged from "shocking, I tell you" to "this is why I eat the rich" to "Ron Baron looks like the guy who yells at the self-checkout machine." Fair points all around.
Here's the thing about Baron's logic, though: it's not entirely wrong. Presidents do affect markets. Tax policy matters. Regulation matters. But the idea that Trump is uniquely good for your 401(k) is about as solid as a crypto bro's promise at a bachelor party. Markets went up under Obama, up under Trump, up under Biden. The stock market is not a political scoreboard. It's a chaotic, emotional, occasionally irrational beast that responds to about ten thousand variables, only some of which involve whoever's sitting in the Oval Office.
But sure, Ron. Vote your wallet. That's been the American way since roughly 1776, and it's not changing anytime soon.
**The Takeaway:** Ron Baron just gave us the most honest political ad of the year, if by "honest" you mean "rich guy wants more money." At least he didn't pretend it was about patriotism. In a world of performative nonsense, there's something almost refreshing about a billionaire saying, "I'm voting for the guy who'll cut my taxes," and then going back to counting his billions.